noun
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a regular route for a sentry or policeman (syn: round)in the old days a policeman walked a beat and knew all his people by name
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the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the arteries with each beat of the heart (syn: heartbeat, pulsation, pulse)he could feel the beat of her heart
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the basic rhythmic unit in a piece of music (syn: rhythm)the conductor set the beat
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a single pulsation of an oscillation produced by adding two waves of different frequencies; has a frequency equal to the difference between the two oscillations-
a member of the beat generation; a nonconformist in dress and behavior (syn: beatnik)-
the sound of stroke or blowhe heard the beat of a drum
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(prosody) the accent in a metrical foot of verse (syn: cadence, measure, meter, metre)-
a regular rate of repetitionthe cox raised the beat
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a stroke or blowthe signal was two beats on the steam pipe
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the act of beating to windward; sailing as close as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowingverb
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come out better in a competition, race, or conflict (syn: beat out, crush, shell, trounce, vanquish)Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship
We beat the competition
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give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression (syn: beat up, work over)Thugs beat him up when he walked down the street late at night
The teacher used to beat the students
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hit repeatedlybeat on the door
beat the table with his shoe
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move rhythmically (syn: pound, thump)Her heart was beating fast
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shape by beatingbeat swords into ploughshares
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make a rhythmic sound (syn: drum, thrum)The drums beat all night
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glare or strike with great intensityThe sun was beating down on us
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move with a thrashing motion (syn: flap)The eagle beat its wings and soared high into the sky
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sail with much tacking or with difficultyThe boat beat in the strong wind
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stir vigorously (syn: scramble)beat the egg whites
beat the cream
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strike (a part of one's own body) repeatedly, as in great emotion or in accompaniment to musicbeat one's breast
beat one's foot rhythmically
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be superiorReading beats watching television
This sure beats work!
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avoid paying (syn: bunk)beat the subway fare
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make a sound like a clock or a timer (syn: tick, ticktock)the grandfather clock beat midnight
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move with a flapping motion (syn: flap)-
indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks-
move with or as if with a regular alternating motion (syn: pulsate, quiver)-
make by pounding or tramplingbeat a path through the forest
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produce a rhythm by striking repeatedlybeat the drum
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strike (water or bushes) repeatedly to rouse animals for hunting-
beat through cleverness and wit (syn: circumvent, outfox, outsmart, outwit, overreach)I beat the traffic
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be a mystery or bewildering to (syn: amaze, baffle, bewilder, dumbfound, flummox, get, gravel, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, stick, stupefy, vex)This beats me!
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wear out completely (syn: exhaust, tucker, wash up)I'm beat
adjective
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very tired (syn: bushed, dead)so beat I could flop down and go to sleep anywhere
Extra examples
He beat the dust out of the rug with a stick.
She used a hammer to beat the metal into shape.
She used a hammer to beat the nail into the wall.
The dented metal was beaten flat.
The waves were beating the shore.
He beat at the door with his fists.
The waves were beating on the shore.
The rain beat on the roof.
They beat him with clubs.
Let me sit down. I'm absolutely beat!
...can we pick this up tomorrow, because I'm beat?...
I've never seen his beat.
The team was beaten for the second time.
By winning a prize for writing Tom beat his teacher at his own game.
Kerry is the man to beat in the US Democrats' race.
Phrasal verbs
beat about
— search anxiously
beat back
— cause to move back by force or influence
beat down
— persuade the seller to accept a lower price
beat in
— teach by drills and repetition
beat out
— come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
beat up
— give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression
Word forms
verb
I/you/we/they: beat
he/she/it: beats
present participle: beating
past tense: beat
past participle: beaten
noun
singular: beat
plural: beats